It’s not unusual for me to tell people that I’m ready to go whenever God wants to take me.  Ready for heaven.  Ready for the end of all the junk in this world.

And more often than not, nobody really wants to hear that from me!  Oh, I understand and appreciate that they aren’t ready for me to leave this life yet.  I probably spent most of my life with that same perspective on the ones I loved. God knows how much I grieve those who have gone before me.

But what perspective does God want us to have regarding our eternal home?  And is it one that’s only appropriate for “older” people?  Or those who have loved ones they long to see?  More importantly, how do we know what perspective God wants us to have?

The answer is simple – we go to the book that God wrote for our benefit.  So many of life’s deep questions are answered there.  So I’m going to be pointing us to a multitude of Bible texts that I hope will answer those questions for us all.

Let’s start with one of my favorites.  It comes from Ecclesiastes 3:11:

He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.

I want to focus on the highlighted words – he (God) has put eternity into man’s heart.

Do you ever have the sense that this world is not all there is?  Or at a minimum, do you hope that’s true?  This life isn’t the easiest of journeys, is it?  Whether or not you have a faith in God, you’ve likely longed for something bigger and better than what this world has to offer.

That longing is the reality of this verse playing out in our lives, whether or not we recognize it.  And let’s not gloss over who is behind this longing.  God put it there, I would argue, from the moment of birth.  It just might take a while to bubble up to the conscious surface.

Here is a sampling of scripture that clearly encourages us to keep that eternal perspective.  And note that there are no “qualifiers” in these texts.  They are meant for everyone, of all ages and walks of life.

• Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. Colossians 3:2

• But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Philippians 3:20

• Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.

Psalm 73:25

• For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 Corinthians 5:1

• But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. Hebrews 11:16

• But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. 2 Peter 3:13

• For me to live is Christ, but to die is gain.  Philippians 1:21

• Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.  Hebrews 12:1

• So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

My heart swells with hope and anticipation when I read these texts.  Why?  Because God has placed eternity in my heart.  And in the hearts of all mankind.  Believers in Jesus Christ will see the reality of these truths.  How can we not be excited about that?

Before I finish up, just a couple of side notes.

I’m sometimes asked if I have a death wish when I talk about my longing for heaven.  My response is always, “No, but I have a heaven wish!”  But I want to acknowledge that it’s a whole different scenario if you know of someone who is actively planning to take their life.  Please reach out to professionals who can walk you through this.  And pray for God’s grace to intervene.

So until God calls any of us home, we are still called to be the hands and feet of Jesus to this hurting world.  Don’t sit back in your rocking chair, longing and waiting for the angels to come for you.  If we’re still breathing, God has work for us to do.  Work that he has planned just for you!

You do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life?

It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.

James 4:14